AIIB chief promises zero tolerance on corruption

The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will be lean, clean and green, its interim chief has said, playing down concerns over transparency and standards at the institution.

The $50bn bank, expected to start operations by the end of the year, is attracting a growing list of countries, from Britain to India to New Zealand. The AIIB is seen as a potential rival to established lenders the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, which are dominated by the US and Japan.

“Lean is cost-effective; clean, this bank will have zero tolerance on corruption; green means it’s going to promote the economy,” China’s Xinhua news agency quoted Jin Liqun, secretary general of the bank’s multilateral interim secretariat, telling a forum in Singapore on Saturday. The bank would not be run politically, Jin said.